And Baby Makes Three (A War of the Worlds Story)
by stormy.grace
Summary: While honeymooning in Sicily Damon and Elena receive and unusual wedding present.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place after the Delena wedding, and is obviously a follow-up/companion piece to "Please, Come Back to Me", "Daughters of the Revolution", and "Corporal Compulsion". The inspiration came from markmcg97's vampire baby spell suggestion, and I didn't really want to start the entire next multi-chapter story in this series wit this so I decided to make it a short story instead. There may be a few other short stories focusing on other members of this large hodge-podge supernatural family/army just to sort of catch up with them before I dive in to the deep end with it. I want there to be a time jump, but I don't want to miss any important moments. Like this one. And I might very well come up with a way and a reason to cast a spell to allow vampires to reproduce :) So…enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

Elena couldn't sleep.

It was late and Damon was sound asleep in their bed. But Elena was restless so she had come out to one of the many piazzas of the beautiful Sicilian villa they were renting. The home was built into the side of a cliff and had several sets of stairs that lead right down to the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean.

As she leaned against the rail and looked out into the dark night, breathing in the scent of the flowers that grew all over the property and the salty smell of the water below she couldn't imagine a better place to spend a month long honeymoon. The only problem was that this wasn't exactly the best time to be on a long vacation. A war was brewing back home and here she was vacationing in paradise and feeling like she was going to bust from joy every time someone called her _Signora Salvatore_.

She glanced up at the moon. It was full. Any normal person that might be looking up at it right this second would probably only see a beautiful sight, but Elena knew better. Right now Tyler, who had infiltrated the Guerra pack under the guise of having lost his entire pack, which wasn't entire untrue, was going through a painful transition. Unless he had decided to become a hybrid again or Francesca had deemed him worthy of a moonlight ring. Knowing Tyler, she doubted either one was true.

And then there was Klaus. He wasn't transforming into a wolf right now, but he was certainly feeling it as the twelve rings the Guerreras had stolen drew power from him. Davina had said that the spell she had used to divert the connection last month would only work once. Unless their witches had found a loophole or they had figured out a way to retrieve and destroy the rings Klaus was more than likely in extreme agony right now.

Elena stared up at the moon, wishing she hadn't let everyone talk her into a long vacation. She hadn't even wanted to go on a honeymoon. She had been perfectly fine with putting it off until everything was over. She wanted to help take down the Guerreras. She wanted to help find Hope and defeat Esther. She wanted to help wipe out the Augustine Society and any other group connected to it, and make New Orleans and Mystic Falls safe for their families once more. But everyone had insisted, and she couldn't stand to let them down in even the tiniest way. Even if that meant taking a vacation she didn't want to be on.

The night was silent and dark and beautiful. She knew she should be enjoying it, but she just couldn't. With a sigh she turned to go back inside, but stopped when she heard an odd series of splashes from below. She went back to the rail and leaned over, looking for boats or any sign of life in the water.

The moon was bright; giving off just enough light for her to see that there weren't any boats or ships nearby. She didn't see anyone flailing for help either. She didn't see anything that might have caused those splashes. There was a ripple in the water not too far from the house, and her eyes grew wide as something broke the surface. In the moonlight it looked like some kind of tail, but it wasn't a dolphin or a whale. It looked like some sort of very large fish, but she couldn't see it very well and it was gone before she was even certain she had seen it. She shook her head, deciding it was more than likely a fish, and turned once more to go back inside.

This time it wasn't splashing that stopped her dead in her tracks. It was a very different and extremely unexpected sound, and for a moment she thought she was going crazy. Maybe all the supernatural drama was finally taking its toll on her mind, and she was beginning to have auditory and visual hallucinations. As she listened closely she heard the sound again. This time it was louder and she was one hundred percent certain it was real. Using her vampire speed she rushed down the stone steps to the landing that was practically level with the water, and gasped at the sight.

There, wrapped in a blanket, flailing its tiny fists in the moonlight, and crying as hard as it could, was a baby that looked like it wasn't more than a few months old.

"Damon!" Elena yelled as she stooped down and scooped up the baby.

She rushed back up the steps and found Damon on the piazza, wearing nothing but a pair of dark jeans, his hair mussed, and a worried look on his face. "Elena, what's wrong?"

"We have a new house guest." She said, cradling the baby in her arms.

Damon looked at the wailing child his wife was holding and wasn't sure he wasn't dreaming. "Is that…a baby?"

Elena nodded.

"Elena, we don't have a baby." He said. "Where did it come from?"

Elena shook her head. "I don't know. Someone left it on the landing."

"What?"

"I heard some splashing and thought maybe someone was in the water." Elena explained. "But I didn't see anyone and there weren't any boats anywhere. All I saw was some kind of very large fish tail come up out of the water, and then I heard the baby crying."

Damon looked out at the ocean and then looked back at her. "Are you trying to tell me you think a mermaid left a baby on our doorstep?"

She looked up at him, her eyes wide in confusion. "A few years ago I would've said that was impossible, but now…"

"Mermaids aren't real, Elena."

"How can you be so sure of that?" she asked. "Vampires, and witches, and werewolves are real. Why not mermaids too?"

"Because it's crazy!" Damon said, sounding almost frantic. Clearly he didn't want to believe what was right in front of their eyes.

"Damon, Klaus fathered a child." Elena reminded him. "Practically everyone we know has died and come back at least once. You're over a hundred years old! How are mermaids any crazier than anything else in our lives?"

Damon sighed and ushered her inside. She had a point. Just because he had never seen one didn't mean mermaids didn't exist. There were plenty of people in the world that didn't think vampires were real. He himself hadn't known anything real about werewolves until Mason Lockwood had come to town. For all he knew it was entirely possible that a woman with a fish tail had just left her baby for them to find. But why?

"Is there a note or anything?" he asked.

Elena checked and found a small slip of paper pinned to the blanket. "Yeah."

Damon unpinned the note and read it aloud. "'Please take my baby. Find her a good home. I can't protect her any longer. Her name is Talia.' Great. Just what we need. Another mystery baby whose life is in danger."

"Damon."

He looked at Elena and instantly recognized the look on her face. "No."

"Damon."

"Elena, _no!_" he repeated. "We can_not_ keep this baby. She's not going to be any safer with us. Not while Esther and the Augustines and the Guerreras are still running around wreaking havoc."

"But if it's something supernatural that's after her we can protect her better than any human can." Elena insisted. "And it won't just be us. She'll have an entire compound full of vampires, witches, hybrids, and vampire hunters to take care of her and keep her safe. And what if the mother left her with us for a reason? What if she knows we're vampires and knew we'd be able to protect her baby? Damon, we can't just pass her off to some random person."

"Elena…" he said, trying to come up with another argument, but he quickly realized that he was loosing this particular debate. "I may be one hundred and seventy-three years old, but I don't' think I'm ready to be a father yet."

"What about Lucy?" she countered.

"That's entirely different." Damon said. "I didn't raise her. This is a _baby_, Elena."

"Exactly." Elena said. "A baby that needs someone to take care of her and protect her. I don't think I'm really ready to be a mother yet either, but I don't think we have much of a choice. She was left with _us_, Damon."

"But the note says to _find_ her a good family."

"Damon, we're not pawning this baby off." Elena said firmly, verbally putting her foot down. "She was left with us, and we're going to protect her from whatever, or whomever, is after her."

Damon sighed, realizing the battle was lost. As he looked at the little dark haired, olive skinned child in Elena's arms he couldn't help but smile. Talia was an adorable baby, and the idea of raising a child with Elena wasn't exactly appalling.

"You know they're all going to have a fit when we come home with a baby." Damon said as he failed to resist the urged to gently brush a finger over Talia's soft cheek.

"They'll get over it." Elena said. She smiled at the baby. "Welcome to the family, Talia. Once we find Hope you'll have someone your own age to play with."

"Talia Salvatore and Hope Mikaelson, besties forever." Damon said dryly. "Could this get any more twisted?"

Elena smiled and impulsively kissed her new daughter, tasting faint traces of salt. She looked up at Damon. "This is going to be okay."

He smiled back and put him arms around her, careful not to crush Talia between them. "Everything's always okay." He kissed her forehead, and hoped they hadn't just gotten into something they shouldn't have.

He knew they should probably find Talia another home, but he just couldn't say no to Elena. She was supposed to have grown up and had a family, and if it hadn't been for him and Stefan she would have. She deserved to have a baby, and because she had died with his blood in her system and was now a vampire she would never be able to have children of her own. Talia would be a good solution to that problem, and she would also be a chance for him to know what it was like to be a father, an opportunity that had been taken away from him without his even knowing it had been there.

Talia, who was apparently being hunted down for some reason, deserved a chance at life just like Hope did, and suddenly Damon was determined to do everything within his power to make sure she got that chance. This was _his_ child now, and she was going to live.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know I said this was just going to be a singular short story, but apparently I was wrong. I'm not going to say this is the last of this particular story, because I have no way of knowing that at the moment, but I don't think there's going to be anymore until they get back to New Orleans in the actual Part Three of this series. This is still just a kind of filler story. I think…There might be one more chapter, which I was planning on having be the first chapter of Part Three, but I might change that since it definitely goes with this story. Can you tell I'm no good at making decisions? Lol.**

"Damon!"

Damon left the suitcase halfway zipped and rushed into the kitchen, fearing something had gone wrong. As far as he knew Elena didn't have much experience with babies, and she had insisted on giving Talia a bath before they left for the airport. "What's wrong?"

Elena lifted Talia out of the sink and turned around. "Mermaids aren't real, huh?"

Damon stared at the baby that had only been in their care for a few hours. Talia had grown a tail that was very much like that of a fish. "Okay. So I was wrong. Not the first time. How did that happen?"

"I put her in the water." Elena said simply. "Ten seconds later our daughter's a fish."

Damon grinned. "Our daughter?"

Elena blinked and then grinned as well. "I like the sound of it too, but what are we gonna do? If this is going to happen every time she touches water…Damon, we live in New Orleans now! And she'll never be able to go to a pool party. She's gonna be an outcast! All the other kids will call her a freak!"

Damon stepped forward and placed his hands on Elena's shoulders. "Elena! Calm down. It's not a big deal. We have a small, but very capable coven of witches at home. I'm sure they can find a spell, or create one, to water proof our daughter. She'll be able to go to all the pool parties she wants, and no one will call her a freak."

Elena took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright."

She placed the baby back in the sink and began to gently wash her off. Damon went back upstairs to finish packing. They were cutting their trip short, but under the circumstances that seemed to be the best idea.

Elena had pulled the plug in the sink and was wrapping Talia, whom she was already completely in love with, in the blanket they had found her in when she heard someone approaching the front door. A few moments later there was a knock. She placed Talia in the carrier they had compelled a neighbor to go get them and tried something she never thought she would have to do.

Looking deep into Talia's green eyes she attempted to compel her baby not to cry. She didn't know who was at the door, and they had met several of the people in the area. All of them knew they didn't have a child, so showing up at the door with one in her arms would be a little weird.

When Elena opened the door she was only mildly freaked out to see a woman that looked surprisingly like her. For a moment she thought another doppelganger had shown up, but when she looked closer she realized that she was wrong. While they could definitely pass for cousins at least, this woman's face was different enough that people would have no problem telling the two apart. And she was shorter. Once the moment of shock faded Elena smiled at her guest, but didn't invite her in. Not that it would have mattered. This was a rental and she and Damon had had no problem getting inside.

"Did you find her?"

Elena immediately noted the slightly desperate tone of the woman's voice. She was fairly certain she knew who this was, but just to be on the safe side she asked, "Find who?" looking confused.

"_Talia._ Did you find Talia? Is my baby okay?"

"You're Talia's mother?"

The woman nodded. "My name is Lydia. Please, tell me if she's safe."

Elena knew very well that this could be a trick. So she attempted to compel her way to the truth. She had been charged with the safety of this unexpected child, and she wasn't about to risk it when Talia had only been their care for less than twenty-four hours.

"Tell me the truth." She said. "Are you who you say you are? Are you really Talia's mother?"

Lydia smiled. "I am, but you can't compel me. People like me are immune to your vampire tricks. I see I was right to leave her with you though. Can I see her?"

Elena was a little unnerved to discover that mermaids couldn't be compelled, but for some reason it didn't surprise her. If anything she had read about them was true, didn't they have their own form of mind control? Weren't the sirens she'd read about in mythology mermaids luring sailors to their deaths?

"I'll let you in." Elena said. "But only on one condition. You have to tell us everything we need to know in order to keep Talia safe. We can't protect her if we don't know who or what we're supposed to be protecting her from."

Lydia agreed and Elena showed her inside and brought Talia out of her hiding place. The blanket fell away when she picked her up and she was surprised to find that the tail was gone.

Lydia's face lit up with motherly love as she took the child in her arms. "We only have tails when we're wet. As soon as we dry out we can easily pass for a normal human. Much like you with your rings that allow you to walk in the sun."

Elena wasn't sure what to say and was glad when Damon came in looking curious. "Damon! This is Lydia, Talia's mother. Lydia, this is my husband Damon."

Lydia couldn't shake his hand because her arms were full of Talia, but she offered a friendly smile that was met by a suspicious one from Damon.

"Lydia's going to tell us what's going on and why she left her baby with us last night." Elena said, gesturing for Damon to sit down.

"How do we know she's really Talia's mother?" Damon asked, narrowing his eyes.

"We just have to trust her." Elena said. "Apparently mermaids can't be compelled. And they're only mermaids when wet."

Damon wanted to take the baby back in case this was a kidnap attempt, but he didn't. Clearly Elena believed this woman's story. Based on that he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt while remaining on guard.

Lydia explained that mermaids had mind control powers of their own, so they would have to be careful because Talia was capable of using them even at such a young age. The only problem was that she didn't know what she was doing. She had no control over her powers yet. She would become a mermaid when wet, and like vampires, would have super speed in her mermaid form. When she got older she would have the ability to control and manipulate water, and the full moon would affect her powers in weird and unpredictable ways no matter what form she was in.

"But the most important thing right now is that you keep her safe." Lydia urged. "Her father is human. My father isn't happy about that and wants her dead. He doesn't want the species to be weakened, and he will do anything to get his hands on her. You have to be very careful, because merpeople can be very vicious and their bite is deadly to humans. I'm not sure how it would affect a supernatural creature, but I don't suggest testing it."

"Sounds like mermaids are a mix between vampires, werewolves, and witches." Damon observed.

"Well we certainly aren't undead like you, and we aren't exactly immortal, but we do live for a very long time." Lydia explained. "We do possess some magic, though not on the level of any witch or Traveler. We are capable of appearing young as long as we want, whenever we want. I've met some mermaids that are over one hundred, but don't look any older than sixteen. We age, but we can easily hide it."

"Is there anything else we need to know?" Elena asked.

"I'm sure there is, but I can't stay any longer." Lydia replied. "My father is after me too. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you needed to know, and I wanted to say a real good-bye to Talia. I won't ever be able to see her again. She's yours now. Forever."

Lydia placed a kiss on Talia's fuzzy head and passed her back to Elena. "Thank you for taking her."

Lydia didn't want to go out the front door because it would be easier for her to get away in the water. So Damon and Elena led her out to the back and watched as she dove over the railing of the piazza and sped off as soon as she hit the water. She flipped her tail once in a good-bye gesture and was gone; leaving no sign she had ever been there.

"We're definitely going to need a little magic." Damon said. He looked down at Talia and wasn't able to resist a smile. "You have an awful lot in common with Hope."

Elena hugged the baby a little closer and looked up at Damon. "We need to leave. We've got to get her out of here."

Damon nodded and they went back inside to gather everything up and head back to New Orleans where they would all be much safer, and had access to witches that could cast cloaking spells and maybe figure out some way to keep Talia from transforming every time she got wet.

An already complicated and dangerous situation had just gotten even more complicated and dangerous, but Damon refused to believe that they couldn't win this fight as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Damon stood in the doorway of a room that looked very much like a dungeon, and took in the scene before him. The room was dimly lit and there were four people bound and gagged, tied up in uncomfortable looking chairs. Three of them, George Hollingsworth and the two insignificant assistants, were already dead, their hearts lying in a bloody pile on the dirt floor. The not-so-good doctor was semi-conscious, her head lolling forward as if she had fallen asleep. But none of that was what caught his attention.

What concerned him was the fact that Klaus had Lucy pinned against the wall with his hand around her throat.

"See, this alliance isn't going to work very well if you kill my kid, Klaus." He said, keeping his tone fairly light. "So…why don't you let her go, and we'll see if we can work whatever this is out?"

Klaus glared at Lucy for a moment longer before throwing her to the floor. Lucy scrambled to her feet and shot across the room, seeking protection at Damon's side. She pressed against him and he put his arm around her, his gaze steady on Klaus.

"So…what happened?"

"She got in my way." Klaus growled. "You know how I feel about people that get in my way."

"Worthless, good-for-nothing murder victims." Damon said. "I get it. I've been there. But do you really think killing someone that's trying to help you is a good idea?"

"Well, for someone that's trying to help me she sure has a strange way of showing it." Klaus replied. "For some reason she had a very negative reaction to my killing the people that kidnapped her daughter and tortured her and all the rest of you."

"What's the sense in killing someone that can help us?" Lucy demanded.

"That's the thing, love." Klaus said, moving closer and taking pleasure in the fact that Lucy tucked herself a little closer to Damon. "She doesn't want to help us. She wants to _kill_ us. Please give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill her first."

Lucy straightened up, standing as tall as she could, and looked Klaus in the eye. "Augustine had Rebekah, didn't they? How did they find her?"

Klaus smiled faintly. "You do have a point."

"She might be able to help lead us to Esther." Lucy said. "I'm not suggesting you give her free reign of the house, but why kill her when she knows things that might help us find Hope?"

"Speaking of Hope," Damon said, almost brightly. "When we do find her she's got a new playmate."

"What are you talking about?" Klaus asked.

Damon ignored Klaus and smiled at Lucy. "Why don't you come upstairs and met your new sister?"

"My new _what_?"

Both Lucy and Klaus were confused and curious, and didn't waste any time following Damon up to the ground floor and out to the courtyard where everyone had gathered around Elena.

"And just what in the hell is that?" Klaus demanded when he saw Talia.

"That would be a baby." Damon said, pointing out the obvious.

"I'm sure you're somewhat familiar with the sight, Niklaus." Elijah said, teasing his brother in that off-handed way he had and making both Siobhan and Hayley giggle. "After all, you've got one of your own. Even though she's not currently here I'm sure you haven't forgotten what she looks like."

Klaus shot Elijah a withering look, in no mood for jocularity. "Oh, sod off, Elijah. Would somebody mind explaining _why_ this child is here?"

The question was directed at Elena, who wasn't one bit threatened by his menacing demeanor. She answered easily. "I found her last night. Her mother left her with us so she would be safe."

"Safe from what?" Rebekah asked.

"Well," Damon said, drawing out the word. "Apparently murderous grandparents are all the rage right now. See, Talia here is half mermaid and her grandfather isn't very happy with the human half. From what her mother told us this morning he wants both her and Talia dead."

"And you think she'll be safe here?" Jeremy asked, his arm around Bonnie as if he would never let go of her again.

Elena nodded. "Where else is a supernatural baby going to be safe from her supernatural grandfather other than in a house full of other supernatural creatures."

"Fine." Klaus muttered after a long, silent moment. "I'll help you protect her, but don't expect me to change any diapers or help out at feeding time."

"Duly noted." Damon replied dryly as Klaus stormed out of the room and everyone else began to ooh and ahh over Talia. It seemed the tiny mermaid had already cast her spell over almost everyone in the house, Klaus being the exception.

"What's her name?" Hayley asked, taking a closer look at the child that was now in Elena's arms.

"Talia." Elena replied.

The name played over and over again in Damon's head and he could resist grinning as Stefan walked over to him. "So Brother, how does it feel to be an uncle?"

Stefan gestured at Lucy, who was now holding the baby, crouching down for Noah to get a good look at her. "Well, I was already an uncle, but it'll be nice to actually get to watch this niece grown up."

"Oh please." Damon snarked, slinging his arm around Stefan's shoulders. "We've watched how many generations of nieces and nephews grow up now? How is Talia going to be any different?"

Caroline walked over and slipped her arms around Stefan's waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. Stefan draped his arm around her before answering Damon's question. "Well…she's a mermaid for one. And…she's yours. When we were still human I always figured you'd have kids someday because it was kind of required back then, but after we turned you turned into the kind of person that should never even be _seen_ by a kid. And then Elena happened."

"You know, Damon," Caroline piped up. "When I first met you I never would have said this in a million years, but I think you're going to make a great dad. And I think that little girl is going to have you wrapped around her little scaly finger."

"As if you aren't thinking up ways this very second to spoil her rotten." Damon said, shooting her one of his patented "Damon looks". "_Auntie Caroline._"

Caroline grinned. "I wouldn't be a good aunt if I wasn't."

Stefan, literally caught in the middle, tuned out their silliness and looked across the room at Elena. She may not have carried Talia or given birth to her, but she had definitely taken on that glow specific to new mothers. She looked up, as if sensing his gaze on her, and smiled at him. He smiled back.

At first, when he had realized Elena had feelings for Damon he had been hurt. But their relationship had blossomed into a wonderful friendship and he was honestly happy for her. She had lost almost her entire family because of him, and now she had a chance to be happy. She was married and had a child and an entire compound full of people that cared about her in some way, shape, or form. And even if they didn't, they were still willing to help her, evidenced by Marcel's announcement that he'd be happy to baby sit any time.

"We might take you up on that offer." Elena said, smiling at the vampire she barely knew. She wasn't sure how she felt about Marcel, and she certainly had no idea how he felt about her, but at least she was fairly certain she could trust him. Although she found it a little amusing that the only reason she was so sure of this fact was because the Mikaelsons trusted him. She glanced around at the group of people gathered around her and was once again amazed at the fact that they were all able to live together and no one's heart had been violently ripped from their body yet. Maybe this _would_ all turn out alright, and they could all settle into a peaceful, drama-free life.

She truly hoped so as Talia was passed back to her and she made her way over to Damon. They gathered up their things and headed up to their room to settle back in after their vacation that had been cut short. As Damon shut the door they were both surprised to find a crib beside their bed. She realized, as she placed her daughter in her new bed and kissed her husband, that Klaus had provided it.

"Do you think this is Hope's?" Damon asked, running his hand over the wood.

Elena wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed against him, smiling as she looked up at him. "I don't know, but you know what I do know without a single shadow of a doubt?"

Damon smiled back, his eye full of the love he felt for her. "What?"

She pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "I know, without a single shadow of a doubt, that I love you more than words can say. And I know that keeping Talia was the right choice. We're a family now, Damon, and there is nothing I won't do to protect my family."

Damon wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "The feeling's mutual, babe."

Standing there in their temporary home, safe in each others arms, Damon and Elena both gazed happily down at the cooing baby in the crib and knew that, one way or another, everything was going to be alright.

**Okay. This IS the last chapter. And, because I forgot to mention it in the last chapter, some of my mermaid mythology is borrowed from H2O: Just Add Water. I didn't want to do it as another crossover for two reasons. 1) I was pretty sure it would all get a little too complicated and confusing even though the idea of bringing in doppelgangers for Hayley and Rebekah was very tempting, and 2) I haven't finished watching all three seasons of H2O, and I like to be all caught up before I start writing fan fiction for a show. So I sort of took what I'd learned about their mythology and mixed it in with my own. Anyway, I hope you liked meeting Damon and Elena's daughter, and I hope you stay tuned for more stories based in this world. I have several idea I'd like to work with, and one that's currently being developed right now. Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments. I do so enjoy reading them :)**


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